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Little River/Tremont 3/9/10

I saw the news this morning and decided I'd better cut out of work early and get some fishing in. I called a buddy of mine, we'll call him Paul, on the way to Townsend to see if he wanted to join me. He was actually in his truck on his way to Townsend to fish, so we met up at LRO's.

Paul hurt his back recently, so I didn't want to drag him to where I really wanted to fish. We headed to Little River roadside above Metcalf Bottoms. I rigged up with a caddis fly and dropped a BHPH off it.

Within the first 10 minutes, I'd caught a nice healthy rainbow on the dropper.

We fished our way on up river and I told Paul there would be a brown behind a certain rock. I slipped on up, and sure enough, there was. It was far less photogenic than the rainbow.

Soon afterwards, Paul started noticing boot prints on the rocks on his side. We headed down to Tremont to finish the day.

We got up above Tremont and found a place where I'd caught fish earlier this winter. I told Paul I was going to fish the caddis fly until I caught something on it. Sure enough, I finally had a taker. He rose and took the fly. I had actually stuck him, and he came off. Next cast, I caught one.

This fish had the most vibrant colors of any trout I've caught. The very next cast into the same pool, I caught another rainbow, same size as the others. I reeled in and walked back down the road to Paul. Any more fishing, and I'd feel like I was getting greedy.

Leaving Early...

After another recent round of layoffs at my company I thought I was lucky to have a job...

But now that I think about it, what I really want is a job that I can "leave early" and go fishin'...

BTW, those are some nice looking fish (I like the red cheeked one, as well)...it feels like its going to be a good year in the park and other wild waters in the area...I can't wait to get some "down" time...

I've looked in that area (up from Metcalf Bottoms). It seems like there isn't much bank to work with and a person would have to wade. Do you guys wade the shollows, stick to the bank, or cross over and fish from the far woodline in the area that he mentioned?

MTB - Seeing that Paul had hurt his back, and me being the friend that I am, meant that I had to lookout for his health and safety. Whenever we would get to a fishy looking pool or run, I would jump up in front of Paul and fish it first. I was wanting to make sure there weren't any slippery rocks or dangerous situations that could hurt him worse. Some people might have just thought I was being greedy, but in reality, I was just looking out for my buddy.

Pete - Work is not everything they make it out to be. I think fishing in the park is going to be outstanding this year. Last fall, I noticed that the fish were larger than in the past, but this year, they seam even larger. I remember when a 10-11" fish was means to celebrate. Most of the fish I've caught this year have been 10-11". We need to get together sometime and fish. Let me know when you get a break.

BlueRaiderFan - I wade. As a matter of fact, I jump right in. I want my first cast through a run to have a perfect presentation. And if it means wading closer to the fish to get it, then that's what I do. (This is all just my opinion, so have at it). I want as little silhouette to be above the fish as possible. Don't go kicking rocks around or anything, but don't be afraid to get wet. Fish seam to be a whole lot less afraid of what's in the water than what is out of the water and above them. Sometime this summer, bring a snorkel and mask to the park and you can litterally swim in close proximity to fish, not close enough to touch, but you can still see them. Stand over top that same pool, and they are gone.

By the way, I saw a few bugs hatching in the middle of the day. I don't know the names, some were tiny and the others were larger. The larger ones I could see flutter on the surface. Saw trout rise twice but mostly they were ignored. Water temperature at 4 pm near Elkmont turnoff was 42 degrees.